By Mimi Donaldson, Speaker & Author
Los Angeles, CA USA
In the early years of my speaking career, I experienced a wake-up call that it’s NOT about me. I was NOT a celebrity. I was a hired speaker. I was booked to keynote at a women’s conference at a university known for its great football team who plays on a blue field. In the pre-conference phone calls, the client asked some questions that struck me as very strange: “Do you require a limo from the airport?” After finding out the airport was only 20 minutes from the venue, I told her I didn’t even need a hired car – that someone could pick me up, or I would hop into a taxi. She was astonished: “You mean I could pick you up in my Toyota?” I said, “Sure.” She said, “With a baby seat in the back?” I said, “Sure.” She then asked, “What kind of bottled water do you prefer?” It was the 90’s. I didn’t know the names of bottled water, never mind the difference between them. I said, “I don’t care. I usually buy my own water, but it’s great that you will provide it.”
There was a pause. I said, “Where are these questions coming from?” She said, “Well the last speaker we hired from Los Angeles was very particular. She insisted on a limo, and yelled at the conference volunteer staff when they brought her the wrong designer water!” I told her I was shocked. After learning the name of the “speaker/ celebrity,” I was not that shocked. I assured her, “I am not a diva and I certainly don’t ACT like a celebrity, and I’m always very nice to the staff.” She sounded relieved. Voila!
That was the beginning of my reputation as the “No Prima Donna’s here” speaker. I arrive early, stay after my speech, and never bring my wheelie suitcase with me into the speaking room, so I can run away quickly right afterwards. AND – here’s the most important part: If there are speakers before me that day, I attend. There is nothing worse than the third speaker of the day unwittingly contradicting or repeating what previous speakers said! The audience knows you were not there, so they already don’t like you. Be smart, people.
Since 1984, Mimi Donaldson has spoken for 50 Fortune 100 companies. She was a Human Resources Trainer at Northrop, Rockwell and Walt Disney. With a BA in Speech and Communications and a Masters from Columbia University, Mimi’s authored three books, most recently, Necessary Roughness: New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life.